Saturday, March 19, 2011

Saturday stalwart residents of Northeast, Pendleton Heights, Scarritt Renaissance and Indian Mound helps clear bush honeysuckle from an area just west of the Colonnade on the Concourse.

We worked in partnership with KC Parks and Recreation which furnished men, chainsaws and a wood chipper... the difference is remarkable....Above and below show the area before we attacked.Above Mike and Olga raking and piling.All ages were involved in the clearing and cleanup.Above, Leslie getting some exercise.As usual over here much of the work was done on hillsides....Above, Adam Schieber rakes.... after the scrub trees and honeysuckle was cut the stumps were painted with herbicide. After a couple of weeks Parks and Rec will come back in and cut the stumps at ground level. Thus this area can then be regularly mowed to prevent re-occurence.Mike, foreground and Jeff in the background.... we hauled the branches up the hill and Parks chipped them.... two truck loads came from this relatively small area.Above, Jason multi-tasking... he is the Neighborhood Beautification Czar for Scarritt Renaissance.Leslie in the background (blogged her home in a recent post) raking so the stumps are visible.Our crew started at 9am and Adam broke out the grille at noon. The rain started just as we began eating.Above, Andrea, community organizer for the new HELP organization and Don Bosco....Kade and Kerry above in Dad's truck.Malenda... assistant beautification czarina and person in charge of our bicycle rack art project. More on that in a future blog.What a difference a day makes.... Parks and Rec furnishes the tools, the neighborhood furnishes gloves and trashbags.Hard work but well worth it. It's good to partner with the City in these projects.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Last time I walked was last year... business and weather have conspired to keep me in the cabin. Ventured out Friday to visit Scarritt Point and Cliff Drive.... above and below the Point.There are, not unexpectedly, a large number of animal tracks in the snow.... it's somewhat reassuring to see that the deer paths from last year are still in use.Above the view up from the Point... below the view from the Point.... Pendleton Heights is on the horizon.Above.... this portion of Kessler Park, in which Scarritt Point is located, is in the Reduced Mowing Program... which at first I didn't like but now do because of the more natural appearance it brings to the hillside. Below down on the Drive.... which really, except for the sky, is totally monochromatic.Very rugged and stark all winter..... all photos taken with the D3 .... five exposures of each image sandwiched softwarily to give higher dynamic range. All taken with the 24-70 zoom at 400 ISO.This month, Jan 6th in fact, marks the second anniversary of Hyperblogal.... time flies.

Monday, December 6, 2010

In front of the Arts and Crafts home of Bill and Chris a band of carolers greeted guests....This home could easily be the best example of this type of architecture in the midwest.... certainly in Kansas City.Above.... I kept thinking "Antiques' Roadshow, Antiques' Roadshow" but I got caught at the door. :)Original leaded glass above.... below the home of Joanne.... whose company is in the home restoration business...This home was built for Mr. Townley... of Townley Hardware fame. Features mixtures of wood throughout including mahogany and various oaks.Above, Kent Dicus docents away... Kent was chair of Pendleton Heights Home Tour this year.... the neighborhoods are very good about cooperation with each other to stage these great events.Above... the kitchen remodeling is underway but Joanne says it will be ready for Christmas.Below, the entryway of Steve and Becky's house... one of the best features of the old homes is the beautiful use of woods throughout... this stairway leads to the second floor... which was also on tour.The master bedroom above and below beautiful stained glass on the landing.... and all throughout the home.Breakfast room above which looks out over a water feature and Cliff Drive below.Tomorrow... two more homes.... 1899 and 1906.